Freezer Paper Custom Designed T-Shirts

10/25/2013 08:39PM
● Published by Anonymous

By Kara Weber, Creative Ideas Director

"I don’t know what to get (insert name
here) for Christmas, but I know they like (insert activity, book, game, object,
movie or character here)!” If you can fill in the blanks for this question, you
can make this person on your list a totally custom, quality-looking, printed
T-shirt with his or her favorite theme.

Freezer paper stenciling is a great way
to make a screen print type look for a T-shirt with any quote or object you
would like on it. Harry Potter, Hello Kitty, Lego, Star Wars, super heroes, football
teams, or family names, you name it and you can put it on a T-shirt.

What you need:

Tulip (Soft) fabric paint and sponge
brush

Freezer paper

Exacto or craft knife

Iron

T-shirt

1.
Pick out a
theme for your shirt. Use the computer to print off your graphic or lettering
of choice. You can search for images online. You are looking for a single,
solid color graphic. While you can do very detailed things with freezer paper
stenciling, it is best to start out with more simple shapes.

2.
Trace your
image onto your freezer paper. Putting it in a window so you can see through it
might help.

3.
Using the
craft knife, cut out your stencil onto the freezer paper. Remember to save any
interior pieces you might need to complete your stencil like the inside of
letters.

4.
Arrange your
freezer paper shiny side down onto your t-shirt. Once pieces are where you want
them use an iron to iron them in place onto the t-shirt. The iron’s heat melts
the wax on the freezer paper and your stencil sticks to the shirt, creating a
more leak proof bond than a plain stencil.

5.
Next make
sure you have something inside your shirt so the paint won’t soak through to
the other side. Take your sponge brush and soft fabric paint with a stamping
(not spreading) motion to cover your stencil. You will want enough paint to
cover, but don’t put it on thick to soak.

6.
Next you can
either wait the amount of time suggested for the paint to dry or, if you are
impatient like me, get out your blow dryer and dry it quickly.

7. Make sure it is completely dry, and then pull off
your stencil to see your masterpiece.